Is this stylus worn out?


Hello,

I own a Lyra Delos. After several years, it began to sound a bit off. I think I was detecting some distortion in the high frequencies. As I had a 2nd cartridge in a similar price/quality/performance category (Transfiguration Axia), I switched to that one and put The Delos in the box for a while. Recently I began to play with a USB microscope and took some photos of the styluses on both cartridges. I was wondering if you would look at my photos of my Delos stylus and comment on its wear. I do not know what it looked like when new. Actually, I would love to see an image of a Delos stylus at the beginning of its life!  (I also attached one photo of the transfiguration axia for comparison.  Apologies in advance for the poor photo quality.  my microscope is not great.  Not sure if the image is attaching properly.  if you click on it, it will take you to a page with both shots that I have.

 

thanks!

Mark

 

 

 

marktomaras

Showing 1 response by wallytools

The distortion caused by worn fine line contact edges causes linear distortion of a type that is not annoying, but works to decay the soundstage, imaging, detail, overall intelligibility and high frequency extension. The high frequency distortion can be several other things, but I don’t think it is a sign of a worn stylus and is NOT a sign of a misaligned stylus. The two most likely culprits are a very dirty stylus (happens sometimes if you use gel cleaners, extended use of the magic eraser in a humid environment or never wet clean your stylus) and problems with your tonearm (either not enough or too much anti-skating, horizontal forces generated by twisted wires or bad bearings). Third most likely cause is that you are listening to groove damage.

I’ve never seen a USB scope capable of resolving well enough to show fine line contact stylus wear - and I’ve experimented with many USB scopes. You need an optical scope for that.

In any case, "several years" suggests you passed the 1,000 hour use mark a while ago if you listen for a few hours a week. It is probably time for a re-tipping.